ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Pink Floyd

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November 28, 2016 02:49 pm

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Pink Floyd

Profile: Pink Floyd were an English Rock band that formed in London in 1965. The group achieved worldwide acclaim, initially with innovative psychedelic music, and later in a genre that came to be termed as progressive rock. They were distinguished by philosophical lyrics, musical experimentation, frequent use of sound effects and elaborate live shows, and remains one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in the history of popular music.

Did You Know?

Its past members include students Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboard and vocals.

Roger Waters became the band’s primary lyricist and dominant song writer.

Other players include Rado Klose on guitar (1965) and Jon Carin backing vocals, keyboards, side guitar and sound effects (1985-1995).

They began their career at the development of London’s underground music scene and is considered to be one of the UK’s first psychedelic music groups.

According to Rolling Stone, “By 1967, they had developed an unmistakably psychedelic sound, performing long, loud suite-like compositions that touched on hard rock, blues, country, folk, and electronic music.”

Lead Singer Syd Barrett named the band by fusing together the names of two East Coast blues men known for their bass-driven finger-pinking style of play, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The press began to label the band’s music as progressive rock by the late 1960s.

Pink Floyd concerts were always a multimedia event. Their live performances incorporated film projected onto a backdrop as well as the band.

Pink Floyd were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

By 2013, the band sold more than 250 million records worldwide.

The discography consists of fifteen studio albums, three live albums eight compilation albums, four box sets, four video albums, one extended play and twenty-seven singles.

More Random Facts

The album “Dark Side of the Moon” is said to sync perfectly with the Hollywood Classic ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

They were one of the first bands to pioneer live surround sound. Richard Wright would use joysticks attached to an amplifier to propel the sound around the arenas.

Russian Astronauts took the album “Delicate Sound of Thunder” up to the Mir space station in 1989, making it the first album to be played in space.

Before settling on Pink Floyd, the band went by various names such as The Tea Set, Sigma 6, Meggadeaths, The Abdabas, and the Screaming Abdabs, Leonard’s Lodgers, and the Spectrum Five.

The animals used frequently on their cover art have names such as the flying pig named Algie.